OLIVER TWIST
1. Chapter 1 | Page 1
‘Among other public
buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to
refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there
is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and
in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself
to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in
this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is
prefixed to the head of this chapter.’
· Dickens
presents his satirical language style to the reader from the first sentence.
Conversation, rhetoric, and length of sentences are complementary elements of
judgmental utterance. Ironically, Dickens's harsh criticism throughout the book,
and his condemnation in more overtly sentimental and serious terms, is meant to
underline the characteristics of the period.
2. Chapter 1 | Page 3
‘There being nobody
by, however, but a pauper old woman, who was rendered rather misty by an
unwonted allowance of beer; and a parish surgeon who did such matters by
contract; Oliver and Nature fought out the point between them. The result was,
that, after a few struggles, Oliver breathed, sneezed, and proceeded to
advertise to the inmates of the workhouse the fact of a new burden having been
imposed upon the parish, by set- Oliver Twist ting up as loud a cry as could
reasonably have been expected from a male infant who had not been possessed of
that very useful appendage, a voice, for a much longer space of time than three
minutes and a quarter.’
· In
this quote, we witness how Oliver Twist met his destiny, poverty. Also, we meet
the poverty house. In that time, unemployment and poverty levels were high.
Many families live under the same roof together. In these houses, besides the
parents, the children had to work as well.
They were at the edge of poverty and hunger in every aspect. Oliver
Twist was born into such a house.
3. Chapter 1 | Page 5
‘The
surgeon leaned over the body, and raised the left hand. ‘The old story,’ he
said, shaking his head: ‘no wedding-ring, I see. Ah! Good-night!’
· Dickens
emphasizes the worthlessness of women in these lines. They were living under
the hegemony of their father or husband, under the control of the marriage
system. The women were divided into two groups. Married and others. Those who
were not married were also called fallen women.
4. Chapter 2 | Pages 9/10
‘Oliver
Twist’s ninth birthday found him a pale thin child, somewhat diminutive in
stature, and decidedly small in circumference. But nature or inheritance had
implanted a good sturdy spirit in Oliver’s breast. It had had plenty of room to
10 Oliver Twist expand, thanks to the spare diet of the establishment; and
perhaps to this circumstance may be attributed his having any ninth birth-day
at all. he this as it may, however, it was his ninth birthday; and he was
keeping it in the coal-cellar…’
· Children
were expected to help to support their families. They often worked long hours
in dangerous jobs and in difficult situations for very little wages. Here we
can see the common example that they work in coal mines. they were worked to
carry the coals up in thin lines. They were chosen because they were weak and small,
they could easily pass through small holes.
5. Chapter 5 | Page 17
‘What a novel illustration of the tender laws of
England! They let the paupers go to sleep!’
· Here
Dickens brazenly mocks and satirizes the appalling conditions of his Victorian
London workhouses. This passage shows Dickens' tone for much of the novel, in
which he actively tries to criticize the church and the government's treatment
of poor people.
6.
Chapter
5 | Page 49
‘I’m Mister Noah Claypole,’ said the
charity-boy, ‘and you’re under me.’
· The
footnote on the same page says: 'charity boy' is the name given to students
studying in schools established for poor or orphaned children to attend.
The
special uniforms these children wore made it known to everyone that they were
helping out and caused them to be despised. We can easily understand the impact
of social behavior on children and their futures from this quote. Dickens
focuses on exactly this issue in these lines. Both the aid and the poor child
were wanted to be known in the society.
7.
Chapter
8 | Pages 68/69
‘Although
Oliver had enough to occupy his attention in keeping sight of his leader, he
could not help bestowing a few hasty glances on either side of the way, as he
passed along. A dirtier or more wretched place he had never seen. The street
was very narrow and muddy, and the air was impregnated with filthy odours.
There were a good many small shops; but the only stock in trade appeared to be
heaps of children, who, even at that time of night, were crawling in and out at
the doors, or screaming from inside. The sole places that seemed to prosper
amid the general blight of the place, were the public-houses; and in them, the
lowest orders of Irish were wrangling with might and main.’
· This
passage exemplifies Dickens’s perspective of London in Oliver Twist. It is
bleak, seedy, poor, and filled with immoral people. These scenes of urban
description throughout the novel are often set at night, or in the rain—the
weather is rarely kind to the slums of London. Here the problem of children
without caring parents is exemplified, too, for there are children everywhere,
yet no sign of any adults taking care of them. Instead, all of the adults seem
to be busy drinking in the pubs. In the city, the poor gather in the pubs,
while in the country they gather in the church, and this seems to symbolize the
great difference between the two communities - why in one setting people can be
picturesque and in another they are repulsive.
· Here,
I related the gloomy weather with Oliver Twist’s gloomy life. Just as the sun
rises after a gloomy, cloudy day, so Oliver's pessimistic life also took a turn
for sunny days after Mrs. Mylie.
8.
Chapter
9 | Pages 82
‘When
the night came, he turned into a meadow; and, creeping close under a hay-rick,
determined to lie there, till morning. He felt frightened at first, for the
wind moaned dismally over the empty fields: and he was cold and hungry, and
more alone than he had ever felt before. Being very tired with his walk,
however, he soon fell asleep and forgot his troubles.’
· We
see the darkness and the cruelty here. We feel the loneliness of Oliver in the
cold and gloomy weather very closely within the lines. Dickens conveys the
gloomy atmosphere of the story in an emphatic way.
9. Chapter 10 | Page 104
‘Whenever
the Dodger or Charley Bates came home at night, empty-handed, he would
expatiate with great vehemence on the misery of idle and lazy habits; and would
enforce upon them the necessity of an active life, by sending them supperless
to bed. On one occasion, indeed, he even went so far as to knock them both down
a flight of stairs; but this was carrying out his virtuous precepts to an
unusual extent.’
· Normally,
children are not expected to perform any task in order to be able to eat.
However, if you are a child of the 19th century, we can understand very well in
these lines that you have to fulfil the dangerous tasks given to you,
regardless of your age, in order to fill your stomach and continue your life.
10. Chapter 11 | Page 121
‘Poor
boy, poor boy!’ said Mr. Brownlow, bending over him. ‘Call a coach, somebody,
pray. Directly!’ A coach was obtained, and Oliver having been carefully laid on
the seat, the old gentleman got in and sat himself on the other.’
· Mr.
Brownlow accuses Oliver Twist of stealing. Later, he learns that he is innocent
and tries to protect her. This is the first time we have read this chapter. Mr.
Brownlow becomes the accusatory protector. Things start to turn here. This is
the first time we are reading a good behavior to a child.
11. Chapter 12 | Page 122
IN
WHICH OLIVER IS TAKEN BETTER CARE OF THAN HE EVER WAS BEFORE
· The
title of the chapter is enough to express the situation of the Oliver Twist’s
life condition. Related to the previous
quote, Oliver Twist was born poor and for the first time ever received favor
from someone while he had grown up to this age with cruelty.
12. Chapter 17 | Page 194
‘I
should like,’ said the child, ‘to leave my dear love to poor Oliver Twist; and
to let him know how often I have sat by myself and cried to think of his
wandering about in the dark nights with nobody to help him. And I should like
to tell him,’ said the child pressing his small hands together, and speaking
with great fervour, ‘that I was glad to die when I was very young; for,
perhaps, if I had lived to be a man, and had grown old, my little sister who is
in Heaven, might forget me, or be unlike me; and it would be so much happier if
we were both children there together.’
· Sickness,
hunger, enduring abuse and worse, he is still a child. Children's heart is
still chasing good manners. Even in the depressing state of the period, he is
struggling to leave a few good wishes and messages for his friend Oliver
because he is a child. We should never forget this as we get carried away with
the flow of the book.
13. Chapter 19 | Page 219
‘I
want a boy, and he musn’t be a big ‘un. Lord!’ said Mr. Sikes, reflectively,
‘if I’d only got that young boy of Ned, the chimbley-sweeper’s! He kept him
small on purpose, and let him out by the job.’
· Child
laborers should be kept thin and skinny so they can work any job, get into
every hole necessary, and thus gain more popularity. A normal child should gain
weight and eat as well. Being overweight is normal and we think that if he is
thin he will get sick, but if you live in the 19th century, it is more
important for children to be thin and thin than if they are healthy. This way,
regardless of age, they can go through the thinnest holes, work in jobs and
earn money.
14. Chapter 21 | Page 239
‘It
was a cheerless morning when they got into the street; blowing and raining
hard; and the clouds looking dull and stormy. The night had been very wet:
large pools of water had collected in the road: and the kennels were
overflowing. There was a faint glimmering of the coming day in the sky; but it
rather aggravated than relieved the gloom of the scene: the sombre light only
serving to pale that which the street lamps afforded, without shedding any
warmer or brighter tints upon the wet house-tops, and dreary streets. There
appeared to be nobody stirring in that quarter of the town; the windows of the
houses were all closely shut; and the streets through which they passed, were
noiseless and empty.’
· Dickens
portrayed the gloomy events of the period with the gloomy atmosphere of London.
When we read these lines, we may feel as if we are wandering around the corners
of Oliver's life with the effect of the dark air.
15. Chapter 26 | Page 294
‘The
child,’ said the girl, suddenly looking up, ‘is better where he is, than among
us; and if no harm comes to Bill from it, I hope he lies dead in the ditch and
that his young bones may rot there…‘I shall be glad to have him away from my
eyes, and to know that the worst is over. I can’t bear to have him about me.
The sight of him turns me against myself, and all of you.’
‘I
say again, I hope he is dead, and out of harm’s way, and out of yours,—that
is…’
·
With Nancy's words, we can actually
understand how bad the working conditions for children were at the time. The
children work in such bad conditions that Nancy said that it's a better option
for Oliver to die than to return and work here.
16. Chapter 27 | Pages 313/314
‘She’s
always a-doin’ of it, Mr. Bumble, sir; she chucks me under the chin, please,
sir; and makes all manner of love!’… ‘Mr. Bumble, holding up his hands. ‘The
sin and wickedness of the lower orders in this porochial district is frightful!
If Parliament don’t take their abominable courses under consideration, this
country’s ruined, and the character of the peasantry gone for 314 Oliver Twist
ever!’ With these words, the beadle strode, with a lofty and gloomy air, from
the undertaker’s premises.’
· At
that time there was rigid rule about not talking about sex or sexuality. In
this chapter we are absolutely see this rule by Mr. Bumble. Not only talking
about sexuality, but also sexuality itself is immoral, sinful and terrible.
17. Chapter 31 | Page 368
‘Who
can describe the pleasure and delight, the peace of mind and soft tranquillity,
the sickly boy felt in the balmy air, and among the green hills and rich woods,
of an inland village! Who can tell how scenes of peace and quietude sink into
the minds of pain-worn dwellers in close and noisy places, and carry their own
freshness, deep into their jad-ed hearts!’
· I
wanted to add this quote to my homework because Oliver Twist's life, in which
we read all the features of the gloomy atmosphere of the 19th century
throughout the book, finally saw some sunshine and peace. I associated this
quote with the rising sun over London's gloomy weather.
18. Chapter 37 | Page 420
‘I
said the word, ma’am,’ said Mr. Bumble. ‘The prerogative of a man is to
command.’ ‘And what’s the prerogative of a woman, in the name of Goodness?’
cried the relict of Mr. Corney deceased. ‘To obey, ma’am,’ thundered Mr.
Bumble.’
· In
this chapter, dickens portray the problems of woman. At 19th century
woman was living under the hegemony of their father or husband. Mainly they
live under the control of marriage system. While reading this quote, we can
understand that while men have the right to all kinds of behavior, a woman can
only act in accordance with the rules ordered by her.
19. Chapter 37 | Pages 421/422
‘This
preliminary proceeding laying bare his head, the expert lady, clasping him
tightly round the throat with one hand, inflicted a shower of blows (dealt with
singular vigour and dexterity) upon it with the other. This done, she created a
little variety by scratching his face, and tearing his hair; 422 Oliver Twist
and, having, by this time, inflicted as much punishment as she deemed necessary
for the offence, she pushed him over a chair, which was luckily well situated
for the purpose: and defied him to talk about his prerogative again, if he
dared. ‘Get up!’ said Mrs. Bumble, in a voice of command. ‘And take yourself
away from here, unless you want me to do something desperate.’
· The
title of the section where this quote is ‘IN WHICH THE READER MAY PERCEIVE A
CONTRAST, NOT UNCOMMON IN MATRIMONIAL CASES’. We are witnessing the exact
opposite of the subject I explained in my previous quote in these lines. Dickens shows us that a woman resists her
husband in the face of injustices and can even commit violence at a time when a
woman lives under male domination, is afraid and afraid. Although I'm not
advocating violence, it's nice to see a woman show courage and stand up to her
husband or male domination.
20. Chapter 42 | Page 505
‘There’s
a good deal of money made in snatching their bags and parcels, and running
around the corner.’
Chapter 42 | Page 505
‘The
kinchins, my dear,’ said Fagin, ‘is the young children that’s sent on errands
by their mothers, with sixpences and shillings; and the lay is just to take
their money away— they’ve always got it ready in their hands,—then knock ‘em
into the kennel, and walk off very slow, as if there were nothing else the
matter but a child fallen down and hurt itself. Ha! ha! ha!’
Chapter 43 | Page 510
‘He
was charged with attempting to pick a pocket, and they found a silver snuff-box
on him…’
· Here
we can see the criminality is so easy to talk about and it was so spread at
that time. Theft is normalized because children are so available for this.
Since they are small and can run fast, they can steal easily. People who force
children to steal also earn money from them. High levels of poverty also
increase the rate of theft.
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